I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry, and unhappy like we do. --Cesar Chavez, farm worker and activist (1927-1993)
What an animal-rich day today has been: wake up to
our beloved felines, Harry and Billy (who had been trying to wake us up!),
think about a blog post on animals, then around 11 am, tune in to the Wildlife
Conservation Network’s third virtual Expo.
Grey crowned crane
As occurred before, today’s expo featured reports from around the world about how wildlife is being helped and protected by committed scientists and local people who are ever more sensitized and highly trained to care for animals in their environment.
And now, taking a break by taking a brisk (I hope) walk, when I’m bound to encounter various animals – sure, the dogs being walked and the “bird-watching” outdoor cats, after a meal, but possibly groundhogs, squirrels, birds and maybe even a deer besides. (Everyone must have been napping, except for a few birds chirping and a distant woodpecker.)
Since much of today was devoted to African animals, I’ll share some things I learned from Expo.
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| Rhino |
** Large animals, like rhinos and elephants, need space/land. But as human populations grow, the accompanying development shrinks land for large animals hampering normal animal life and migration.
** Pangolins continue to be the world’s most
trafficked mammal. One video showed a
poacher starting to pick up a pangolin, who curled into a ball – virtually its
only means of “defense” and with that, the balled-up animal was put into the
poacher’s sack. (Last year, an estimated
1 million pangolins – widely eaten as a delicacy and whose scales are used in
traditional medicine -- were killed by
poachers.)
Pangolin on 'defense'
** Bonobos, sharing 98% of our DNA, are one of
2 great apes who are our closest relatives.
Unlike more aggressive chimps, our other great ape-kin, bonobos do not
kill, truly living to “make love, not war.” In their Congo rain forest habitat, they are
often hunted as “bush meat” by local people who need money.
** Grey-crowned cranes are making a comeback in
Rwanda, thanks to efforts to remind inhabitants of their traditional affinity
with these unusual-looking and beautiful birds. Once, the cranes had been totems and models
for the people, but over time, they were captured and fenced in to be used as live
garden ornaments (!). At one point, Rwanda
had more captive cranes than wild ones. Now those numbers have been reversed; there
are no captive cranes in Rwanda.
** Elephants were also on today’s agenda, of
course. Because there was so much to see
and hear about them, I’ll save all that till the next blog post.
** Footage throughout today’s Expo showed ongoing
efforts to engage local people (often starting with children, who will inherit
the country and its fauna) and grow their interest in animals and conservation.
Among other benefits, a country’s healthy,
valued wildlife can attract tourists and improve the economy.
Bonobo
The Wildlife Conservation Network (wildnet.org), behind today’s event, works “to put communities in the forefront of protecting wildlife.” Which was why local people who have become deeply involved in conserving their area animals were often co-speakers and/or leaders in what’s happening there.
But that’s not all for
now. You must see a Dodo video-story
featuring an up-and-coming scary African animal who decided it was time to
terrorize some tourists. https://tinyurl.com/z8w9kyu7
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